


An Interesting Find

by Ninjagirl27



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Don't @ Me, Eventual Romance, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of social media, Photographer Akira, honestly just an AU i made on the spot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2020-03-17 11:37:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18964474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninjagirl27/pseuds/Ninjagirl27
Summary: On a beautiful spring day, Akira takes a photo of something so beautiful and perfect, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. Oh yeah and there's like a mountain in the background or something he doesn't remember.Akira uploads a photo of his local park but someone seems to get in the way and steal the show. His fans scramble to find the mysterious boy, Akira tries to maintain damage control, and Goro is all blissfully unaware of the storm that's unfolding all because of his dumb pretty face.





	1. The Shot

The spring season was a peak time for photographers, when the flowers are in full bloom and the animals rush back home to mate. After the expected spring showers came the clouds that formed mesmerizing pattern for all to see. On top of that was the seemingly perfect alignment of the sun casting light in every perfect angle. So to say that Akira was excited would be an understatement. 

Today he took to his local park for his hunt for beauty. The park was relatively empty so he hoped nobody would get in frame, again. One of his pet peeves had to be the fact that some people had zero space awareness and always wandered into a shot, making him wait for them to leave and retake it all over again. It was the definition of mildly infuriating but it got on his nerves like nothing else. The sight of the nearly empty park excited him, the less the better for him. It was a few hours before noon, making the place even more breathtaking than last time. With his fancy camera by his side, a few snacks, and a perfect spring day, he was confident that nothing could go wrong. 

Beauty, tranquility, peace, balance, all the ingredients for amazing photos. As Akira scouted out the area, he struggled to choose just one spot. Everywhere he turned he saw opportunity, from the smallest flower to the biggest creature. Today, everything look photo-worthy but he knew had could only take a handful. It didn’t make it much easier to decide though, so he defiantly sat in one place and continued to stare. It was nothing but a silly little problem, but a problem nonetheless. With hands in his face, he loudly sighed and kicked up his feet. Luckly, there wasn’t anyone around else he’d look like a man-child to any outsider. By the time he waited a few minutes on moaning and whining, he remembered he had a goal and continued his search.

A few hours later, he felt like he’d taken a photo of everything on earth twice in perfect detail, despite the fact he only stayed in on place. He scrolled through his camera feed, admiring his work of the landscape around him. As he passed my the pond, his eyes caught something almost too perfect. He picked up his pace and ran over to a hill overlooking the entire pond. There he saw it, a fully pink cherry blossom tree hanging over the still pond and a light scattering of petals beneath it. It was everything that embodied the season, a perfect photo to upload to kick things off. Once again, absolute perfection in his eyes. His hands scrambled to get into position as he steadied them and took aim. Snap. Snap. Snap. Moving the screen up to his face, he saw the scene that’d be immortalized for the season which made him even more excited. 

As he finally put his gear away, he began walk back to the train station. By now, the park was beginning to become populated and the noisy children could be heard. He passed by a family, a disgruntled man, a jogger, a younger man with a shiny briefcase, and so on. He focus drifted off the people that walked by and back onto the camera he carried. He was ecstatic about the pictures and couldn’t wait to share them. At least one of them would be a hit for sure and he had a bet which one it would be. With a small smile he reached his station and hopped onto the train. Despite the cramped conditions and the younger man he saw previously who kept bumping into him he felt like nothing could ruin his mood. 

~~~~~~~~

The first sign of the apocalypse is the sound of your phone blowing up. Akira had to learn that the hard way. His eyelids crept open as his room came into focus, before they shot up to the sound of notifications. In a still groggy state, he pushed himself up and reached for his phone. As he turned it on, all he could process was the walls and walls of notifications letting him know that there was something up with his picture. Usually, a few comments was to be expected and they’d be a joy to read in the morning. But this, this was anarchy. Something in his latest post was worth the mass mobbing and attention of, and he had no clue why that’d be the case. He grabbed his thick frames and blinked to attention, he gaze fell down to the phone in front of him and he took the plunge.

Awful, absolutely terrible. The photo was fine, everyone loved the photo (as expected) but what really caught people’s attention was the small fact that someone was in frame. Nothing new really, people slipped in from time to time and he usually caught it. If he missed then people would merely tease him about it and move on. They always looked out of place in the photo, like they walked on set and didn’t know how to get off. But this was different, no one ever fit in so well with the composition that it seemed intentional. This guy, this random stranger just owned the frame and stole the show in all honesty. 

Right under that lovely pink tree that he’d admired from afar and sat across the quiet embankment sat a young man with chestnut hair and the deepest crimson eyes, a small smile sat on his lips as he stared into the camera. Part of his body was slightly obscured by a few gnarled branches of an old bush but his expression was as clear as day if you looked into it. It was only in a small corner of the photo but for those more observant, they'd see him sitting there waiting for someone to notice. And noticed they did. It started with a call out from one person, then people took noticed and ran wild with it, finally came the wild speculations from him being some model that Akira found to his secrete boyfriend who wanted to show their relationship to the world. All baseless lies yet people had funny imagination so that pretty much clogged up the post. The picture was popular beyond his own account which surprised him, but it didn’t spread too far before he caught up with it. 

Great, his worst nightmare came true and it was all his fault. ‘Why didn’t I notice this before!’ he mentally screamed as he flopped back down to the bed. It was going to be hard to do damage control, and it’d be even harder to confront the man in question. It was going to be a long week, he sighed and stared at the photo in question. His only solace was in the photo himself, it was still beautiful, even with the photo bomber in the corner. He couldn’t deny that the boy was indeed pretty, but he assumed he wouldn’t like his face plastered all over some stranger’s account. This was going to be a rough week for both of them, he thought as he stared down the beautiful boy once more.


	2. A Day in a Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its a great day to simply walk around the park, before the sun wakes up, when no one is around. Yep, perfectly fine for Goro Akechi.

It was a beautiful spring day, too beautiful to miss out on in Goro’s opinion. He rarely took brakes from his busy job, but when he did he was particularly drawn to to the park. The usual routine of going to his crowded office, working on case files, being criticized by higher ups as became an unwelcome familiarity. So of course when the opportunity to escape the noise arose, he’d already scheduled and be on his way to the park he so desperately wanted to see. He knew if he went early enough he could avoid the hustle and bustle of the usually rowdy crowd. Families with children, gym fanatics, the loonies and more were almost a guarantee to come if went too late. So at an ungodly hour of the morning, he woke up and prepared to finally enjoy his long needed wait, his shiny briefcase in hand.

To say today was perfect was an insult to how amazing the day was. It was almost eerily empty with barely anyone in sight and the sun had just barely breached the horizon. It was nice to escape from the world he’d live in for so long and trade it for the serenity of nature. Maybe waking up this early was a bit overkill, but he didn’t regret his decision and was surely going to spend every waking moment taking in the atmosphere. 

The day had went extremely smoothly after he stepped into the park, at least nothing terrible yet. No nosy strangers, no loud people, no dangerous people, just overall no people. He guessed that it was the fact that no one was really there that made him smile. Maybe he just wasn't a social person but that wouldn't stop him from going outside. By now the sun had started to illuminate the blue sky and it was just about time for the day to really start. Although more people began entering the park they all seemed too focused to start heading his way. He still had majority of the area relatively to himself so his mood was still great. Despite wanting the day to last forever he knew that the peace of the morning would soon blend to the noisy noon and he didn’t want to stick around that long. ‘One more trip around the pond should be good enough’ he told himself as he walked down hill and closer to the water’s edge.

He put his hands behind his back and peered down the the murky pond below. There he saw glimpses of fish tails and his own reflection curiously staring up at him. It was quite still, with not a ripple in sight nor the disturbance of the surface. Like a glossy mirror with the occasionally creature swimming by his own profile. He watched as a quaint smile crossed his reflection face before turning his attention upwards. Staring across the pond was a wonderful feeling for him, something he felt he needed for a long time. In that moment, he’d forgotten about his job, his dad, his life. All of it had washed away until the propped himself back into reality. In his head, he knew that he’d leave soon yet his legs kept him perfectly still, as if even his body didn’t want to return. So he compromised and walked over to the bright pink tree, dusted off the rocks and sat down with a plop. 

Once he was comfortable he stared out once again and took a deep breath before closing his eyes and just listened. The rustle of leaves, the whistling wind, the cool breeze that tickled his nose, and the overall quiet of the world. His mind began to wonder to places he's never had the time to think about. He thought about his job, his main source of dread, and how to avoid those who bothered him at the workplace. ‘They're probably the reason why I hate people,’ he thought with a smirk.

He took a quick glance at his watch, he’d already spent a good amount of his weekend at the park and by then he could hear the approaching herd of people heading in. With a sigh he turned to look up the hill he’d walked down, only to see a head of black hair staring awestruck at the scene before him. He watched as the man fiddled with the device around his neck and nearly dropping it then stable his hands to take the shot. Goro couldn’t help but smile at the man’s plight, a little rude he knew but it didn’t dim the humor of it, and watched with curious eyes as the photographer spun around to better see his photos. With a satisfied smile, he let the camera hang over his neck again. The photographer returned to the walking path, a good sign that he too should be on his way. He picked up his case and began to hurry his way out of the park, passing by the man with the camera. He spread out of the park before the flurry of people could rush in and block his exit. With a satisfied smile he made escaped unharmed and made his way elsewhere in the city. To him, it was a perfect morning.

~~~~~~~~~~  
The one thing he’d never expect to see was a wall of texts from instagram. He wasn’t popular enough to warrant the ire of many nor had much of a social media presence before. So it shocked him to wake up and see no less than seven or more requests from quite frankly strangers all asking if he was, “that guy in the picture.” That was the strangest part to him, they were all asking the same thing, which left him baffled. ‘I don’t remember being in any picture’, he pondered all morning. While his curiosity ate him up inside, he didn’t have the time to wait around. As much as he wanted to lay in bed and solve the mystery, his real job took a little more precedence than his online life. Pushing the question into the back of his head, he dressed up and lept out the door as me made his way to work.


	3. Finding Crow

̈So, you want me to waste my precious time to find some dude you’re lowkey crushing on?”

“You know full well that's not what I said, but essentially yes.” Akira plead to the girl on his couch. The two sat in his apartment as he tried to work out the problem online. The morning was pretty hectic but he knew that the faster he fixed it the less damage they’ll be. This lead him to his situation now, asking a hacker to stalk some guy. Futaba was basically his sister so obviously if he needed help he’d use her. Besides, who wouldn’t use their hacker friend as much as they could to get what they want, its natural right? 

“But you want me to do it?”

“Please Futaba, you know how long it’d take me to find him.”

“So what,” she groaned, “how long do you think it’ll take me, huh?”

“I don’t know, a minute or two.”

“I mean you’re right, but…” she slid further into his couch, practically parallel to the cushions, “do I haveeeee to?”

“Yes! I can’t just have some dude in my gallery and not ask for permission, can I?”

“Well sure you can!” she sprung up stared back at Akira, “just don’t make a big deal about it and he’ll never know. Boom. Problem solved!”

He sighed while dropping into the seat next to her, “that's not an option, ok? You know how creepy it’d be if you saw yourself on some randy’s profile just out of the blue?”

She shuddered as she listened, “Ugh, I see your point. But that only slightly convinces me, bro. Got anything to,” she rubbed her fingers together and smirked, “ sweeten the deal? I don’t work for free ya’know.”

“Whyyyy Futaba, can’t you just do me a favor? I do those for you all the time.”

“Hey, this is what I consider a job, and you don’t exchange services at work now do we?”

“Fine, what do you want then?”

“Wow really? Alright then. Hundred fifty bucks.”

“What!? Cut me some slack, You think I have that kinda money?”

“Well what else should I ask for?”

“Look look,” he faced the hacker and leaned closer, “ Forty bucks plus I’ll take you out for dinner. Sound good?”

She hummed angrily before she shoved Akira off and shouted, “Fine! I get to choose where we go though, ite?”

He put his hands up in defeat, “Alright, Alright, just don’t choose something that breaks the bank and it’ll be fine.”

“Ok ok, a deal’s a deal so while I search up this nerd I’ll search for some fancy food place for us to dine at. I’ll relay what I find for dinner so prepare your wallet!” she gave him a sinister smirk before she popped open her laptop.

“Hey, I know it won’t take all day for you so why can’t you just tell me.”

“It’s a safety net so you don’t flake.”

“Woah, do you really think, I your brother, would do that to you?” he said in an exaggerated tone.

She pointed straight to his face without looking up, “Don’t lie to me, you were already planning your escape route weren’t you?”

“... Sheesh, am I getting predictable?”

“Yup, gotta update the act soon else you’ll be boring again.”

“Dang, thanks for telling me,” he abruptly stood up and walked to the door before he paused, “see you tonight then and please choose something cheap.”

She snickered before she responded, “ We’ll see, bro, we’ll see.” Akira gave her a crossed look as he left the house to her. Her smile persisted as she opened a new tab and searched for her dinner. As she scrolled through the nearly endless list of local restaurants she, took a quick glance at the account she already found. It was a small account revolving around selfies, cute animal photos, and tasty looking desserts from posh bougie cafés. By the photos she could already tell what kind of boy he was, prepyi and basic all at once. Hopping on her alt account and cracking her knuckles, she initiated conversation with ‘Prince_of_Crows’.

~~~

His phone sat quietly in his pocket, so tantalizingly close yet so far. His mind couldn't help but to wonder to the world of social media. His break was five minutes away until he could sneak off and start asking questions. His leg bounced in place as he waited for the hand to strike twelve. Right as the clock rung out, he immediately whipped out his phone, stunned to see a notification that stared back at him. Apparently it was a message from, ‘ Alibaba’ on Instagram, which was especially weird since his account was private. He would have simply ignored it if it weren’t for what the person was asking.

“Hello, Goro Akechi”

“We need to talk about your appearance in a photo”

His instinct was to block them, he didn’t have his real name online nor wanted to interact with someone possibly dangerous. It was also weird how they by passed the private status and messaged him anyways but it wasn't impossible. His curiosity got the best of him and pressed on despite his fears. He typed back, “Excuse me, do you happen to be affiliated with the photographer ‘PhantomJoker’?”

“”Wowie, you text like a bot but yes. He asked me to reach out to to so you two can meet up or whatever.” He was a bit stunned by the seeming indifference to the situation.

“Are you aware of why this person wants to contact me?”

“Well no duh, obvs I know why. That's why I'm trying to connect you two together since your account is private. Coward.” Their extra comment offended him but he powered on.

“Ok then, can you give me his contact information. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“Wow, that was the most robotic text ever. Do you have friends?” the profile asked as clear as day. 

“That's none of your business,” he typed as he tried to ignore her question, “now can I contact your photographer or no?”

“Alright alight,” the person typed before falling silent for a moment. As Goro waited for a response he almost hoped they wouldn't talk back. With all the attitude this complete stranger was giving him, he couldn’t imagine their photographer friend was any better. Despite his wishful thinking, he saw a string of numbers flash onto his screen. He looked at it closer, no obvious signs of it being a scam or fake. He glared at the clock, definitely not enough time to call so he weighed his options. Texts would be the best, atleast to make contact and wait for them to respond. Finally, he bit the bullet and opened up his messenger, he needed to get to the bottom of this nail biting mystery. All he sent was one sentence, he wanted this mixup to be done and over it.

“Excuse me , ‘PhantomJoker’ I’d like to speak with you about your recent photo so call me at your convenience.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I just wanted something cute to fill the void between my other long story thats supposed to be a little more serious and my writer's block. This is just some dumb love story that I wanna write so if the writting style is different that its my brain wanting to be funny.


End file.
